male or female?

[flight_of_the_wing]

hi! i'm going to get a cockatiel, and i wanted to know how you can tell whether your cockatiel is a male or a female so i can name it. i heard that you can't tell until your bird is at least 6 months old? thx!!!

[VictoriaRose]

You can usually tell by the coloration... for the normal grey 'teils the brighter yellow faces are usually male and females are more muted and have bars on the tails.. if its a lutino than the orange cheeks would be duller on a female.
As far as other mutations go, I just did a quick google search and this site came up:
Cockatiel Mutation & Sexing the Cockatiel

[UtahTiels]

You are right. Until they molt you cannot really tell. The normals are easy. A normal whiteface is easy. Most of the rest would require a DNA test. If they are vocal that is usually a male. But there are females that talk and whistle. A real good way to tell is if it lays an egg. Then you can be 100% sure it is a female. I am looking at buying a Lutino hen right now that has the brightest cheeks I have ever seen. So unless the mutation is sex linked and the breeder knows the splits of the parents it is going to be hard to tell. Oh the spots on the wing feathers sometimes will tell you. I am not sure where the pictures are right now but do a search for sexing cockatiels and you should find it. It is about 90% correct. Good luck.

[birdsnreps]

i sex mine by behavior....usually my male babies will sing all day and night, ive got some noisy, obnoxious little babies lol. they are a little more "rowdy" too, while my females are very calm, quiet and extremely sweet. as they get older, you can also tell what sex your bird is once they start to mature sexually. but, dna sexing is better for someone who doesnt have the experience to tell by behavior alone.

[flight_of_the_wing]

thx for the help!!!

[Ms Disney]

don't want to sound nuts I have a male from one breeder and I thought a male from another breeder my males are having sex, which makes me think one of the breeders was mistaken??? any advice.

[christie99]

Two males can and will mate with each other, nothing will come of it. Two females can do the same, but they will lay infertile eggs.

[Ms Disney]

Well not sure if male or female but it has made the talker finally stop singing the mating call from 5am to bed time. thank goodness.